Hosta plant named ‘Angel Falls’

ABSTRACT

The new and distinct  Hosta  plant named  Hosta  ‘Angel Falls’ with arching, elongated, cordate leaves having dark green margins with wide yellowish centers that develop into a creamy-white to near white centers. Flowers are light lavender on large-sized plant held attractively above the variegated foliage; each flower subtended and set off by large pointed bract.

Latin botanical classification: Hosta hybrid (Tratt.).

Variety denomination: ‘Angel Falls’.

BACKGROUND OF THE PLANT

The present invention relates to the new and distinct hosta plant, Hosta ‘Angel Falls’ discovered by Hans A. Hansen on spring of 2010 in a greenhouse at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The plant was found as an un-induced whole plant mutation of the Hosta cultivar ‘Niagara Falls’ (not patented). ‘Angel Falls’ can best be described as a reverse color pattern mutation from ‘Bridal Falls’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,594 where the leaf variegation has switched positions.

The most similar known hosta cultivars are: ‘American Hero’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,587, ‘Bridal Falls’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,594, ‘Cyclone’ (not patented), ‘Greenhead Center Court’ (not patented), ‘Niagara Falls’ (not patented), ‘Satin Doll’ (not patented), ‘The Queen’ (not patented), and ‘Guardian Angel’ (not patented).

Compared to the sport parent, Hosta ‘Niagara Falls’, the new plant, is smaller in habit and has leaves with that emerge with creamy yellow centers that develop to a creamy white to near white and sinuate or undulate margins of dark green margins. The flower scape generally greyed-yellow colored on the new plant rather than olive green. Compared to ‘American Hero’ the new plant has more arching foliage with stronger sinuate to undulate leaf margins. ‘Satin Doll’ has similar shaped foliage, but the margin is not as sinuate to undulate as in ‘Angel Falls’. Compared to ‘Guardian Angel’ the new plant has foliage that is more sinuate to undulate, and the center leaf color of ‘Guardian Angel’ is viridescent rather than albescent. ‘Cyclone’ is a smaller plant, has smaller leaves with leaf centers that are more white in the spring, and without the arching habit and lacks the sinuate to undulate margin. The new plant is larger in both height and width than ‘Greenhead Center Court’ and also has a more cordate leaf base and more sinuate to undulate margin. ‘The Queen’ is smaller in habit, has flowers that are deeper lavender, stiffer more upright foliage and less sinuate to undulate margins.

No plants of Hosta ‘Angel Falls’ have been sold, in this country or anywhere in the world, prior to the filing of this application, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made prior to the filing of this application with the except that which was disclosed within one year of the filing of this application and was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.

‘Angel Falls’ has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype.

The new plant has been successfully propagated by division of the rhizome at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA and also by tissue culture methods and found to produce identical plants that maintain the unique characteristics of the original plant. The plant is stable and reproduces identical, true to type individuals in successive generations of asexual reproduction.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PLANT

There are over 5,400 cultivars registered with The American Hosta Society, which is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for the genus Hosta and a similar number of unregistered cultivars. Hosta ‘Angel Falls’ differs from all these registered and unregistered cultivars known to the inventor in the following combined traits:

-   -   1. Plant of moderate size with foliage that arches over in         maturity.     -   2. Elongated cordate foliage that emerges with yellowish centers         and develops to a creamy-white to near-white with sinuate         margins of dark green margins.     -   3. Foliage has deeply impressed veins above and sharply costate         below.     -   4. Numerous light-lavender slightly pendulous flowers on erect         scapes well above foliage with large bracts below each flower.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the five-year-old plant demonstrate the overall appearance of the plant, including the unique traits, grown in a partially shaded greenhouse in Zeeland, Mich. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum, source, direction and temperature may cause the appearance of minor variation in color.

FIG. 1 shows a multi-division clump of a five-year-old plant in mid-season.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of a leaf with variegation and sinuate margin.

FIG. 3 shows a close-up of the flowers of six-month-old plants with less mature foliage but later in the season.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2001 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. The new plant, Hosta ‘Bridal Falls’, has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, growth rate, moisture and specimen maturity, but without any change in the genotype. One skilled in the art would recognize the phenotype of the new plant would differ based on maturity level or number of years without dividing. The following observations and size descriptions are of a five-year-old plant in a greenhouse in Zeeland, Mich. with white plastic glazing and light fertilizer.

-   Botanical classification: Hosta hybrid. -   Mutation parentage: Hosta ‘Niagara Falls’ (not patented). -   Propagation method: By sterile laboratory tissue culture propagation     and garden division. -   Growth rate: Moderate. -   Crop time: Under normal winter and spring growing conditions about     24 to 27 weeks to finish from a from rooted tissue culture liner to     a 65 mm pot. -   Time to initiate roots from tissue culture: About three weeks. -   Plant description: -   Plant shape and habit: Hardy, long-lived, herbaceous perennial,     densely rhizomatous, forming a large mounded clump in maturity, with     basal rosette of arching leaves on long petioles; usually radially     symmetrical. -   Roots: Normal, fleshy, lightly branching, cream-colored in normal     soil. -   Plant size: Foliage height about 50 cm tall; width of plant at the     widest point is approximately 90 cm at the widest point just above     soil line; about 15 divisions. -   Foliage description: -   Leaf blade: Cordate; entire sinuate margins; cordate leaf base with     acute to acuminate apex; flat, mostly bilaterally symmetrical, with     deeply impressed adaxial veins and ribbed abaxial; glabrous adaxial     and abaxial; adaxial surface slightly glaucous becoming dull     matte-surfaced late in growing season, abaxial surface moderately     glaucous remaining throughout growing season; margin variegation     width portion increasing with maturity from year to year; width of     variegation irregular with jetting of intermediate portion, to about     4.2 cm, average of about 2.5 cm; length to width ratio of about     1.5:1.0; to about 33.5 cm long and 20.0 cm across, average about     27.5 cm long and 15.5 cm wide; 13 to 14 pairs of major parallel     veins and one main center vein. -   Blade color: Early season as emerging adaxial center more yellow     than RHS 145D and more green than RHS 160B, adaxial margin between     RHS 138A and RHS 138B, intermediate colors of RHS 145B, nearest RHS     138D and nearest RHS 144D in small irregular and linear patches     between the margin and center; early season as emerging abaxial     center more green than RHS 11B and more yellow than RHS 162D,     abaxial margin more yellow than RHS 138A and more green than RHS     147B, intermediate colors of nearest RHS 145C and nearest RHS 148D     in large irregular and linear patches between the margin and center;     mid-season and later adaxial margin nearest RHS 137A, creamy-white     center lighter than RHS 155D, large and small irregular intermediate     patches of nearest RHS 147D and other smaller intermediate patches     of nearest RHS 145D, lighter and greener than RHS 148C and lighter     than RHS 153D; mid-season and later abaxial margin nearest RHS     N138B, creamy centers lighter than RHS 155D and large and small     irregular intermediate patches or striations of nearest RHS 145A,     RHS N144A, RHS 151C and RHS 154D. -   Veins: 13 to 14 pairs of major parallel veins, with midrib; veins     impressed to a depth of about 3.0 mm above and ridged below. -   Vein color: On early season adaxial margin nearest RHS 138A, and     center nearest RHS 145C; abaxial margin and center the same color as     the surrounding leaf tissue. -   Petioles: Entire, concavo-convex, glabrous, glaucous, upright to     arching; to about 39.5 cm long and about 1.8 cm wide, average about     35.5 cm long and about 1.2 cm wide measured at about 3 cm above soil     line. -   Petiole color: Adaxial and abaxial margin between RHS 138C and RHS     138B, and lighter than RHS 155D in the adaxial and abaxial center. -   Flower description:     -   -   Buds.—Clavate; bluntly acute to rounded apex with longer             thin base; one day prior to opening about 6.5 cm long and             1.7 cm wide at the broadest portion.         -   Bud color.—Lighter than RHS 85D at proximal fused base and             lighter still to near white with very slight tinting of RHS             85D at the distal end.         -   Flowers.—Closely arranged, 20 to 28 per scape; each             subtended by bract; funnelform; about 5.4 cm wide and 6.8 cm             long, (distal flowers slightly smaller); remain open for a             normal period, usually one day on or cut from plant; scapes             remain effective from late-June into mid-July in Zeeland,             Mich.         -   Flower fragrance.—No detectable fragrance.         -   Tepals.—Two sets of three fused in the basal two thirds;             acute apex; margins entire; glabrous, approximately 6.8 cm             long and 1.4 cm wide.         -   Tepal color.—Abaxial tepal color lighter than RHS 85D;             abaxial corolla tube portion nearest mixture of RHS 192D and             lighter than RHS 85D; adaxial tepal center middle portion             nearest RHS 84C with adaxial margins near white, lighter             than RHS N155D in outer 1.0 to 2.0 mm; inner tepals with             clear transparent edge of about 1.0 mm wide. -   Gynoecium: Single.     -   -   Style.—About 7.3 cm long, 1 mm diameter, curled slightly             upward in the distal 1.5 mm; color white, lighter than RHS             155D the with basal 1.5 mm nearest RHS 145D.         -   Stigma.—Globose; 1 mm to 2 mm in diameter, color lighter             than RHS 155D.         -   Ovary.—Oval, about 6 mm long and 3 mm diameter; between RHS             145A and RHS 145B. -   Androecium: Six.     -   -   Filaments.—Six, about 6.9 cm long and 1.0 mm in diameter;             with slight curve upward in proximal 1.5 mm; color lighter             than RHS 11D.         -   Anthers.—Oblong; dorsifixed; versatile, longitudinal; about             4.0 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, color nearest RHS 11C.         -   Pollen.—Elliptical, less than 0.1 mm long, color nearest RHS             13B. -   Bracts: Subtending each flower, lanceolate, margins entire,     glaucous, glabrous, concavo-convex, widest at middle and gradually     tapering to acute apex and sessile clasping base; size of lowest     bract about 6.4 cm long and 1.5 cm wide before first flower,     progressively decreasing in both length and width; drying as flowers     open. -   Bract color: Adaxial and abaxial margins nearest RHS 146B with     slight tinting of nearest RHS N186B; adaxial blend between RHS 145B,     RHS 145C and RHS 160A, abaxial center nearest RHS 145D; after flower     drop and before drying developing to nearest RHS N144D. -   Pedicel: Terete, glaucous, glabrous; about 10.0 mm long and 3.0 mm     diameter; attitude outward. -   Pedicel color: Nearest RHS 145C with a tint of RHS N187C. -   Peduncle: Terete, glaucous, glabrous, typically unbranched; usually     one per mature division, mostly upright to slightly arching to about     15 degrees from vertical; about 8 to 10 mm diameter at base, about     70 to 80 cm tall. -   Peduncle color: Beginning nearest RHS 146D and upon maturity nearest     RHS 160A. -   Fruit: Non-fleshy, dehiscent, tri-loculicidal capsule; oblong     ellipse; about 3.2 cm long and 5.0 mm in diameter; color as maturing     nearest RHS 146D, when nearly mature and prior to dehiscence nearest     RHS 150D and upon dehiscence nearest RHS 161C. -   Seeds: Elliptic; with flattened wing surrounding embryo situated     toward one end of ellipse; about 10 mm long, 2.5 mm wide and 1.0 mm     thick at embryo; typically 6 to 24 per capsule; color nearest RHS     202A with maturity. -   Disease and pest resistance: Disease or pest resistance beyond that     common to hostas has not been observed. The plant grows best with     light fertilizer, plenty of moisture and adequate drainage, but is     able to tolerate some flooding and drought when mature. Hardiness at     least from USDA zone 3 through 9, and other disease resistance is     typical of that of other hostas. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A new and distinct ornamental Hosta plant named ‘Angel Falls’ as herein described and illustrated. 